Congress returns from its August recess this week facing a full plate of unfinished business, in particular the appropriations measures needed for the fiscal year that begins October 1. The House has passed all 12 of the bills but the Senate has cleared just one, affecting DHS, and even that bill faces a conference and potentially difficult negotiations with the White House before it can become law. There is difficult work ahead on the other spending bills, as well, since the administration has threatened to veto many of them on cost and policy grounds. Congress may once again have to resort to a maneuver it has used many times in past similar situations, enacting a stopgap “continuing resolution” while work on the individual bills continues. In theory, leaders might not be able to accomplish even that and there could be a partial government shutdown with furloughs of employees, but that is not considered likely for political reasons.